A rainbow is formed through a combination of three processes: reflection, refraction, and dispersion. Let's break down each process to understand how a rainbow forms:
1. Refraction: When sunlight enters a raindrop, it bends or changes direction. This bending of light is known as **refraction**. Different colors of sunlight bend by different amounts because they have different wavelengths.
2. Reflection: Once inside the raindrop, the light gets reflected off the inside surface of the drop. This reflection sends the light back out of the raindrop at different angles.
3. Dispersion: As the light exits the raindrop, it bends again (refraction). Because each color bends by a different amount, the sunlight is spread out into its component colors, creating a spectrum. This spreading into a spectrum is called **dispersion**.
All three processes contribute to the formation of a rainbow. The combination of **refraction, reflection, and dispersion** results in the beautiful arc of colors that we see in the sky.